Maybe you will guess.
The next time you visit your dentist for a checkup and he’s ready to inject the standard novocaine dose into your gums, ask: do you know what’s in this, doc?
Unless he’s really conscientious, ten-to-one odds say he has no idea; he just orders from the medical supplier and goes to work. This isn’t to say that your average dentist is malevolent, just maybe that he’s not as diligent as he should be.
Via Indian Society of Periodontology (emphasis added):
Nanotechnology in dentistry refers to new generation research carried out to develop newer technologies, restorative materials and drugs of Nano dimensions. The word “Nano” refers to Nanoscale particles. Although the science of nanotechnology in dentistry is recent and less developed, but still has vast potential to show advancement and improvement in the field of dentistry. As nanotechnology is making firm grip in other fields such as drug delivery system and reducing toxicity by the emergence of more biocompatible materials. Clinicians, researchers, and manufacturers are taking keen interest and participation in the advancement of this field.
The sales pitch regarding nanotech in dental anesthetics is that these materials can be used to prolong the painkilling effect and therefore provide greater comfort to the patient.
Via Journal of Molecular Liquids (emphasis added):
Nanomaterials rapidly improve our lives and lead to novel applications from biomedicine to electronics. Carbon nanomaterials are a special class of materials with limitless potential for practical medical applications. Graphene is a typical representative of two-dimensional nanomaterials with unique and outstanding properties. What is even more important when it comes to graphene's practical applications is that it is readily available for synthesis and modifications. It is a single layer of carbon atoms in which each atom is covalently bonded to three neighbors.
Graphene is most frequently considered an adsorber of important molecules in biomedical applications, owing to its vast surface area of 2630 m2g−1. The great adsorbing potential makes it a candidate for developing sensing devices or drug delivery agents. In this work, we are addressing graphene adsorbing properties to tackle the challenge of prolonging the anesthetic effect. Namely, by using graphene as a drug delivery system, the idea is to release the active component and prolong the anesthetic effect slowly.
Is dumping graphene oxide into dental anesthetics the godsend its proponents promise it to be? Perhaps. But why the lack of public discussion on the topic? When was the last time you went to the dentist and he disclosed all of the ingredients in the painkiller he injects into your gums?
Graphene oxide, by the way, is also a proposed additive to dental implants of various kinds.
Via Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (emphasis added):
It is important to improve the performance of titanium dental implants, and modifications of dental implant surfaces played an important role. Various biomaterials have been widely applied to enhance the osteogenic properties of dental implants. In addition, the peri-implantitis is also the main failure reason for dental implants. Therefore, it is of great importance to explore new excellent antibacterial surfaces of dental implant.
Nanomaterials have showed wonderful performances in improving the strength and resist wear of tooth fillers and sealants. Moreover, nanomaterials also performed excellent antimicrobial properties in the application of restorative materials. Owing to the above advantages, outstanding nanomaterials are widely applied in the dental fields of restorative materials, adhesives, cements, primers, and so on.
Among various nanomaterials, graphene, as a promising two-dimensional (2D) carbon-based nanomaterial, is the thinnest and strongest material. In 2004, it was first isolated by Novoselov and Geim using mechanical exfoliation with a sticky tape and they won the Nobel Prize in 2010. Graphene-based materials could be divided into four categories: single-layer graphene, few-layered graphene, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Owing to perfect physical properties, well electrical conductivity, and excellent biocompatibility, graphene and its derivative have attracted much attention in the field of medicine and biomedical fields. Moreover, graphene and its derivatives have also aroused great attentions in the field of dentistry and tissue engineering, dental implant coatings, bone cements, resin additives, and tooth whitening.
This is not medical advice, but, if you’re interested, look into holistic dentistry, one of the pillars of which is avoiding the use of harmful materials like graphene oxide in dental practice.
